It’s part of mayor’s job to enforce the city’s laws

After three city councilors announced a press conference to call for the city attorney to enforce the minimum wage ordinance, the mayor and city attorney changed their positions. Just before the scheduled press conference it was announced that they now support enforcing the minimum wage ordinance.

The mayor and city attorney are correct in determining that they should enforce the city ordinance to protect an employee who has come forward and complained about not being paid.

Unfortunately, they take the position that enforcing the city’s ordinance will be “the exception.” They intend to do nothing about the other employees whose employer refuses to pay a minimum wage.

Neither the mayor nor the city attorney acknowledges that the original 2006 minimum wage ordinance not only gives the city attorney the authority to compel payment of a minimum wage but that the city attorney, as a matter of protecting the public, has an obligation to do so.

Further, the city charter states that the mayor shall “faithfully execute and comply with all laws … of the city.” The mayor cannot take the position that he has no responsibility for seeing that laws are enforced.

The city attorney should immediately move to enforce our ordinance through a legal action to compel this scofflaw employer to comply with the law as to all of his employees.

The right to receive a minimum wage should not be limited to those employees willing to risk their jobs by blowing the whistle. This is not, as the city attorney has stated, a matter solely between an employer and an employee and not a matter for the city to be involved with.

In 2005, New Mexico’s Supreme Court (relying on the United States Supreme Court) stated that “wages insufficient to support basic needs are a public problem due to the impact on the entire community.” The court found that regulating wages was an appropriate use of a city’s police powers.

The mayor should join in support of having the city attorney take legal action to see that the minimum wage is paid to everyone who is entitled to it.

Let’s get on with it.